Cookies with CoderBunnyz - In conversation with Hadi Partovi, Code.org CEO, Angel Investor - Facebook, Dropbox, Uber and more.

March 20, 2015 - S.O.M.E.W.H.E.R.E. in S.i.l.i.c.o.n V.a.l.l.e.y. my mom printed my first "The Hour of Code" certificate from code.org. Of course, after I finished my hour of coding! How exciting was that day, my first coding completion certificate - in print, signed by the Founder of Code.org, Hadi Partovi! and who could imagine, that would be the beginning of such an amazing journey for me.

So, let me ask you all - how many of you have seen this certificate? Hmm.. a wrong question to ask, over tens of millions of students have (416,015,610 to be exact) in 180+ countries have seen this certificate and completed "The Hour of Code"!

Pretty Cool, right? Yes, considering that it is just a tip of the iceberg of the impact that code.org has made in lives of kids around the world. Not only has it changed the lives, it helped kids like me to use coding as a tool to change the world!

March 20, 2015 - Sept 02, 2015

With my love of board game and passion for coding (courtesy Hadi - code.org), I created a coding board game. I mix my favorite animal bunny in it and CoderBunnyz was born.

May 22, 2017

I am humbled to have the opportunity to have a conversation with the person who has been unknowingly key force in my journey. The person who signed my coding certificate 2 years ago and gave me the internal power to start signing one myself.

Welcome to another episode of Cookies with CoderBunnyz!

We are in conversation with Hadi Partovi. Hadi needs no introduction; he is changing the world one coder at a time.

In his own words - "I started Code.org with the dream of bringing computer science education to every school and every student. I'm a technologist at heart. I enjoy building disruptive, innovative technology products and services that have worldwide impact, as well as advising and investing in startups that do the same."

Samaira: What habits helped make you so successful?

Hadi: I've always been a workaholic. A lot of people think that success is about being very smart and that if you're not born smart, you're basically screwed. Of course, that matters too, but I agree completely with Bill Gates that hard work and drive are really, really important. Thomas Edison once said that success is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration. One key to my success has been to work harder than anybody else.

Samaira: Coding and Technology is a boys club. Why has it become so important nowadays to bring more and more girls into it?

Hadi: It's only a boy's club in more recent history. If you look back 200 years, the first computer programmer, Ada Lovelace, was a woman. Many of the most important computer scientists in the 1900s were women. So first off, don't let recent stereotypes impact how you think about it. It's important to bring more girls into this field because the wave of technology changing our world is as important (or even more so) as the wave of change when the printing press was invented. Back when the printing press was invented, most people didn't know how to read or write - unless you were a scientist or a priest. Then everybody learned, except slaves were still not allowed to read or write. It makes no sense to have something so universal as technology be a club that's limited to only one demographic. 

Samaira: What makes you happy?

Hadi: This is a fantastic question. It's one of the most important life questions, and the older you get, most people don't even think about this question or don't answer it well. Lots of little things make me happy, but the most important happiness for me comes from friends and family, and from helping others.Samaira: What is one piece of advice you want to give to kids of my generation?

Samaira: What is one piece of advice you want to give to kids of my generation?

Hadi: Don't suppress your dreams and career fantasies. It's important to get good grades, get a job, and support yourself. But once you have the bare minimums covered, don't lose sight of what you really really want to do - whether that's to start a band, start a fashion line, cure a disease, or go to outer-space. Anything is possible if you really really put your mind to it.

Samaira: Cookies Chocolate or Cake which one is your most favorite?

Hadi: Chocolate. No contest

Chocolate? Bam, what just happened? First time on "Cookies with CoderBunnyz" someone liked Chocolate? That's against the rules of "Cookies with CoderBunnyz"!! Ah well, that's what inspiring persons do, they travel "The Road Not Taken".

Thank you so much, Hadi, for the conversation and sharing your amazing insights with us all kids age 0-104. As you said, "Anything is possible if you really really put your mind to it."

I agree completely. Need a proof? Take a look at this -

This is a certificate I present to the participants of my hour of code workshop "Coding with CoderBunnyz" at libraries, schools, and organizations. My heartfelt thanks to code.org and Hadi for empowering me with the F.O.R.C.E to sign this. Code.org - Empowering the next generation kids - today!

"Cookies with CoderBunnyz", is an interview series and talk show by CoderBunnyz. Kids need to learn a lot on their journey to become an amazing adult, from those who have been there. In this series, I ask simple questions to Entrepreneurs, Educators, Leaders, Librarians, Technologists and Individuals, who are making an impact. Kids could learn a lot from their experience. Not only I learn a lot myself, I try to work as a conduit for conveying that message for kids through these series of interviews. If you would like to nominate someone that could help shape kids of the future, I will be glad to talk to them. Please send a mail to [email protected]

(c) CoderBunnyz 2017, All Rights Reserved. https://www.coderbunnyz.com.

(Image Source - code.org, Chocolate)